The "Internet Photo Essays" project introduces collaborative groupwork processes such as mapping and storyboarding. Computer-based activities emphasize multimedia skills, such as creating and editing graphics and text, and introduce basic Internet skills, such as using email and search engines. Participants will learn how to build a Web site. Click below to see the lesson plan for each of the eight sessions.

"Internet Photo Essays" is an inquiry-based project. Participants will formulate questions about social issues and events about which they are curious. The adult facilitators will help the youth participants figure out how to document, analyze and present their findings.

The project can be adapted to a variety of interests and ways of working. It can be done in sequence or out of sequence, in parts or as one continuous, connected project. Because many out-of-school programs follow an academic calendar of winter, spring and summer terms, an 8-week project is suggested. Assuming a typical term of 12 to 13 weeks, this schedule allows extra time for field trips; preparatory activities, such as group introductions; closure activities, such as family nights; and extension activities.

Overview

"Internet Photo Essays" introduces 12- to 14-year-olds to tools and techniques that can be used to create original digital content about issues, trends and happenings that are important to them. This project is targeted to 12- to 14-year-olds because at that age, current events, social issues, politics and history are common themes in students' schoolwork, in the literature and media they are exposed to, and in their personal lives. The emphasis on multimedia and Internet skills is intended to help youth gain the advanced technology skills they need to pursue higher education and employment.

Participants will examine news, arts and biographical materials as a vehicle to understanding the similarities and differences between the personal and social changes they are facing and the challenges that youth in similar cultures and environments have experienced in the past. The activities in the project build on information and experiences that the participants already have about the people, places and culture around them. Youth participants will practice academic skills and real-world production skills. The main goal is for youth to learn how to collect, analyze and present factual and expressive information about social issues that are important to them.

The adult facilitator(s) will help the youth participants identify questions and issues that they want to investigate for the project. For 12- to 14-year-olds, it is especially important to use a participatory project development process that offers them real opportunities to make decisions about what will be done and how it will be done.

Outcomes

Each participant will create a Web-based photo essay: a Web site with photos and written content. Participants will also create learning journals. Other products might include the following:

• Short (30-second to 60-second) videos
• Multimedia presentations
• Community maps

Goals

Project participants will accomplish the following goals:

• Increased ability to understand and present information on social issues from expressive and analytic perspectives
• Increased ability to perform in a collaborative work environment
• Increased ability to present information in multimedia formats
• Increased skill in using multimedia authoring software and the Internet

Components

• Reading: Participants will read and be read to during every session.
• Writing: Participants will produce original journal entries, text content for multimedia products, interviews, and news articles.
• Oral presentation: Participants will practice speaking to an entire group, listening to others while they are speaking, and providing critical feedback.
• Visual communication: Participants will create and edit graphical images with software tools.
• Multimedia/Internet Production skills: Participants will learn how to develop original content in digital formats.

Preparation

Participants in this project should be organized into groups with no more than a three-year age span. The activities are not recommended for youth younger than age 12 because some of the reading materials and activities involve content that addresses mature themes, such as violence. Participants will be required to use advanced reading comprehension skills and work independently for long periods of time. Because levels of skill and maturity vary, adult facilitators should exercise their best judgement when placing participants into groups.

A reference book on teaching and child development will help adult facilitators make decisions about how to customize the project activities for their groups. Check out Yardsticks: Children in the Classroom Ages 4-14: A Resource for Parents and Teachers, by Chip Wood (Northeast Foundation for Children, 1997), or a similar resource.

Participants should be enrolled in a group and expected to participate consistently throughout the whole project. The group should meet to work on project activities on regularly scheduled days and times, and participants should start and end the activities as a group.

If the project is started with participants who have never been worked together, it is highly recommended that the group spend the first few sessions doing community-builder activities which will help participants get to know each other and the adult facilitator. Outward Bound-style games, role-plays and acting games are good community-building activities for preteens and teens. Community builders are also important for participants who know each other but are new to working on a project together.

Participants should be organized into groups with an adult facilitator-to-youth ratio no greater than 1 to 20 and no less than 1 to 8. Ratios should be determined according to the comfort level of the adult facilitator and the needs and comfort level of the youth participants.

The group will need a comfortable space in which to conduct project activities. Preferably, this space should have at least one large table and chairs for group discussions and for working on reading, writing and other sit-down activities. (An even better scenario is to have several worktables that can be placed in different arrangements for breakout group activities.) The group will need secure space to store project supplies and to hang materials such as maps.

A reference book on drawing techniques will help adult facilitators coach participants through activities that involve drawing and graphics. Check out Drawing for Older Children and Teens: A Creative Method That Works for Adult Beginners, Too, by Mona Brookes (J P Tarcher, 1996), or a similar resource.

Books

The following book is recommended for personal and group reading:

• Witnesses to Freedom: Young People Who Fought for Civil Rights, by Belinda Rochelle
  Features the personal stories of young African Americans (children, teens and college students) who were active participants in the Civil Rights Movement in the fifties and sixties. The young people stand up for what they believe, and the book provides honest testimonies about the risks and dangers they faced. Features updates on what the young people in the book have done since their early work in the Civil Rights movement. Includes a bibliography specifically for young people who would like to learn more on the subject.
  

Books with similar themes can be added or substituted. It is recommended that the reading materials feature characters and cultural settings that reflect the culture and ethnicity of the project participants. Consider adding the following or click here for other recommended books.

• Dear Mrs. Rosa Parks: A Dialogue with Today's Youth, by Rosa Parks with Gregory J. Reed
  Features a brief biography of Rosa Parks, followed by letters she has received from young people and her replies to the letters. Her answers encourage the young people who write to get involved, make a difference and stay optimistic. Parks emphasizes the importance of education, describing the barriers to her own (being ill as a child, then having to drop out to take care of her sick mother and grandmother), which led to her receiving her high school diploma at age 20. She deals gracefully with sticky questions, such as her opinions about Louis Farrakhan and O.J. Simpson.
  
  
• Pride of Puerto Rico: The Life of Roberto Clemente, by Paul Robert Walker
  This is the inspirational story of baseball legend Roberto Clemente, from his humble origins in Puerto Rico to his tragic death in a plane crash at the age of 38 while on a humanitarian mission to help earthquake victims in Nicaragua. The book chronicles the obstacles he faced, such as learning a new language, dealing with racism, and coping with various injuries and illnesses. The author goes out of his way to show that Clemente worked hard for what he achieved, rather than simply relying on natural talent. Clemente is not portrayed as a perfect man, but numerous stories about his kindness and courage make him a role model for young people.
  
  
• Eighth Grade Writers: Stories of Friendship, Passage, and Discovery by Eighth Grade Writers, by Christine Lord
  A great model to encourage young people to write creative and personal stories. The writers cover a variety of subjects and story types: some funny, some sad, some science fiction, some probably based on real life. Of the 12 stories in the book, seven are by girls; however, four of the seven stories feature a boy or man as the main character, and another features a third-person narrator. All five of the stories written by boys feature male leads.
  
  
• Hispanic, Female and Young: An Anthology, by Phyllis Tashlik
  This book is the result of a school project undertaken by eighth-grade girls at a school in Spanish Harlem and their teacher, Phyllis Tashlik, who was disappointed at the lack of literary resources available for Latina teens. Together, they read stories and poetry by Latina authors and wrote their own, gathering them in this unusual book. One excellent lesson to be learned from the book is the diversity of the Latino/Hispanic community—some of the writers talk about the stresses and strains of their mixed heritage. For example, one girl talks about how her Puerto Rican heritage is well accepted—Puerto Ricans form the dominant ethnic group in her area—but her Mexican heritage is disparaged.
  
  
• Books by Walter Dean Myers
  Myers is an award-winning author who specializes in fictional literature about the lives of young African Americans. Most of his stories center on teenage male characters but would engage teenage girls as well. The books take on serious topics such as drug abuse, violence and poverty. Some of Myers' most popular books are Hoops; Scorpions; Me, Mop and the Moondance Kid; and The Mouse Rap.
  
  
• Books by Virginia Hamilton
  Award-winning author Virginia Hamilton has written poems and novels about young African Americans living in the past and present. The historical novels create opportunities to engage young people in study about important but difficult topics such as the legacy of slavery in the United States. Some of Hamilton's books are set in current time periods. Many of the books feature female heroines. Titles include Cousins, M.C. Higgins the Great and The Magical Adventures of Pretty Pearl.
  

Materials

Specific supplies needed for each project activity are listed in the session plans. It is helpful to have the following items on hand:

• Scissors
• Glue sticks
• Masking tape
• Scotch tape
• Index cards
• Clipboards
• Loose white copy paper
• Composition books or spiral notebooks
• Colored construction paper
• Thin felt-tip colored markers
• Thick colored markers
• Pencils
• Pens
• Single-hole punch
• String
• Ruler
• Manila folders
• Poster board
• Newsprint
• Butcher paper (white paper in rolls)

It is helpful to have a children's dictionary; a standard adult dictionary; a thesaurus; and a map of the world, a globe or an atlas. Children should be encouraged to use online dictionaries, encyclopedias and map sites. It is also helpful to have a cassette recorder to record sounds and play tapes. A hand-held recorder can be used during field trips and in the classroom to record interviews, music or interesting sounds.

Technical needs

Check our recommendations for computer software for project-based learning and the suggested software listed in each session's plan. Regardless of the specific application, it is recommended that the following types of software programs be made available: